Increases in Sex with Same-Sex Partners and Bisexual Identity Across Cohorts of Women (but Not Men)
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Repeated cross-sectional survey data analyzed across birth cohorts (graded by design analogy for non-clinical scholarship).
OpenAlex W2534812815 · doi:10.15195/v3.a42
What was done
Analyzed repeated cross-sectional survey data from the 2002–2013 U.S. National Surveys of Family Growth (NSFG) across birth cohorts born between 1966 and 1995. The authors evaluated trends across cohorts in reporting sexual identity (bisexual or gay) and lifetime sexual behavior (sex with same-sex partners only, or with both men and women), controlling for age, race/ethnicity, immigrant status, and mother's education.
What was found
Adjusted models showed increases across successive cohorts in the proportion of women who reported bisexual identity, having had sex with both sexes, or having had sex exclusively with women. Conversely, no cohort trend was found for men: roughly 5 percent of men in every cohort reported ever having sex with a man, and the proportion reporting gay or bisexual attraction changed little. Specific quantitative percentages, odds ratios, or confidence intervals for the women's trends were not provided in the abstract.
Why it matters
This study documents a gender asymmetry in sexual behavior and identity trends over late 20th-century U.S. cohorts, showing that liberalization or shifts toward non-exclusive sexual behaviors have occurred primarily among women.
Limits
The abstract omits sample size, effect magnitudes, and confidence intervals. Data rely on retrospective self-reports susceptible to recall and social desirability biases, and the observational design cannot confirm the proposed sociocultural drivers of the observed gender differences.
Cited by
- supports Demographic surveys show that a higher proportion of young people currently identify as bisexual compared to previous generations.